Low-cost lots for urban poor

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. signed over the weekend a memorandum of agreement that will allow the acquisition of low-cost lots for urban poor families belonging to the Alyansa ng mga Samahan sa Sitio Mendez, Baesa Homeowners Association, Inc. (ASAMBA) through the direct sale scheme.

About 297 families stand to benefit from the program, which the Mayor described as a genuine step in curbing the problem of squatting in Quezon City, which to date, constitutes the most number of urban poor in the metropolis.

The Mayor was joined by Erlinda Sapiandante, ASAMBA president, members of the city council and representatives from the city’s urban poor affairs office, during the agreement signing, which was highlighted by the distribution of certificates of lot allocation to the program beneficiaries. Under the agreement, the 297 families, who have long been occupying Sitio Mendez, have agreed to purchase the said property from the city government at a negotiated purchase price of P2,200 per square meter.

The contract of sell between the city government and ASAMBA members shall contain in a provision that a 20 percent downpayment shall be paid in six equal monthly installments by the beneficiaries and that the balance shall be paid within 15 years at a compounded interest of seven percent per annum.

Penalties and interest in the delinquency in payment and the manner of forfeiture shall also be provided in the contract to sell.

The city’s urban poor affairs office, headed by Ramon Asprer, has been tasked to oversee the awarding of the program to qualified and bonafide ASAMBA members.